No need to panic, we have been at war for two decades but we are still standing- Mnangagwa

We have had to survive amidst hostilities, indeed to grow our economy in an environment of myriad exogenous shocks.

Such an hostile environment triggers creativity and inventiveness, engenders and stirs self-reliance in us and our nation.

Indeed, NYIKA INOVAKWA NEVENE VAYO!

Unlike many post-independence countries on our continent, Zimbabwe has not been favoured by donors.

Even ZIMCORD (Zimbabwe Conference on Reconstruction and Development) we had in early 1980s saw fabulous pledges which were never made good by donor countries.

Because of this negative donor attitude, Zimbabwe has escaped the insoluble debt-trap which constrain many economies of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Not that we do not have foreign debt.

We have it, in part inherited from the Ian Smith regime, and in part incurred under the First Republic for decade-long post-war reconstruction and rehabilitation.

But when benchmarked against other African economies, our debt is relatively small, and has diligently been kept within manageable levels.

In fact, what has been growing are interests and default charges, with the principal remaining largely unchanged.

Lately, we have begun servicing that debt, the hostile global circumstances created by the West notwithstanding.

Gradually, our debt burden will ease, in the process raising our creditworthiness in the eyes of the world.

Like the proverbial lion, we have learnt to eat what we catch.

This is one side to our story of resilience.

The other side emerges from sheer necessity, itself the mother of invention.

Circumstances of Western economic strangulation forced on us novel models of development financing. With no credit lines coming our way, and given the risk profile which sanctions created for us, we have learnt to survive and run on a cash economy.

In simple terms, we cannot borrow, or buy on credit.

Rather, we self-finance; we buy only those things we have saved for and can afford.

Our large infrastructural projects currently underway are largely self-financed.

We are financing the rehabilitation of our road network.

We are financing our dam construction.

Continued next page

(332 VIEWS)